Wil Stood By Me

Last Wednesday, I braved Los Angeles traffic and Hollywood parking to meet Wil Wheaton at Meltdown Comics on Sunset Blvd. Wil and a few other writers are touring to promote their latest project, TokyoPop's Star Trek: The Manga: Kakan ni Shinkou. Though a bit late and seemingly disheveled by traffic, too, Wil was kind enough to pose promptly for this picture with me. Regarding the comic, here's a quote from my review, hopefully soon to appear in full at Geek in the City:

Featuring five stellar short stories starring the Original Series crew, Kakan ni Shinkou is a meaty volume in more ways than one; all of the stories are surprisingly long but not unnaturally lengthy (one of my criticisms of the serialized manga format), and most of them proudly include TOS standards like the meaningless death of a Red Shirt, a morality tale shrouded in a space-faring adventure, and most importantly the definitive interplay between Roddenberry’s trinity, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. While they often steal the show, the rest of the cast make their presence known, as well; Uhura even saves the day in one installment, thanks in small part to Nurse Chapel’s encouragement. This volume boldly goes exactly where the Original Series has gone before, but, this time, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

If you happen to read this today and are in Southern California, Wil and the crew are appearing at Golden Apple Comics in West Hollywood tonight. I couldn't recommend the comic more, and what better way to celebrate The Next Generation's twentieth anniversary than an autograph from TV's Ensign Crusher?